Jonathan Demme Lands Financing For Animated NO Story

Jonathan Demme is perhaps best known for directing the thriller Silence of The Lambs. One thing he is not known for is his animated films. That looks to change with his pending adaptation of Dave Eggers’ post-Hurricane Katrina book “Zeitoun.” First announced nearly three years ago, the project hasn’t had much movement since and Demme has been busy knocking out a number of documentaries, including two centering on Neil Young in addition to his latest, “I’m Carolyn Parker.” But it seems like “Zeitoun” is finally going to be moving forward, as financing has kicked things into motion.

Screen Daily report French shingle MK2 has come on board to produce the $15 million dollar movie. The based-on-a-true-story tale centers on Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a successful Syrian-born painting contractor who stays behind after Hurricane Katrina to protect his business and assist in rescue efforts, only to become wrongly suspected of being a terrorist. It sounds like powerful material, but for Demme, it was something much more simple that drew him to the tale.

“I was staring at the book,” Demme told the New York Times in 2009, “and there’s this wonderful line drawing on the cover, the character of Zeitoun in his canoe, paddling through a submerged neighborhood. And I suddenly imagined, What if we could do an animated film and visualize the experiences of the Zeitoun family and all of New Orleans?”

It would certainly be a fascinating approach to a subject that has already seen a handful of documentaries, movies and TV series tackling life in the area. We’re certainly glad to see it’s moving forward, and we’re intrigued to see what Demme will come up with in his first animated full length film. Production will get underway soon as the film is being prepped for a 2014 release.